Partner of slain TV reporter wins Virginia election

ROANOKE, VA - SEPTEMBER 01: A picture of slain WDBJ photojournalists Adam Ward and Alison Parker is seen at a make shift memorial outside the station September 1, 2015 in Roanoke, Virginia. Friends and families gathered at a celebration of life at First Baptist Church earlier to remember Ward, who was shot during a live broadcast reporting, along with reporter Alison Parker. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Partner of slain TV reporter wins Virginia election

ROANOKE, VA - SEPTEMBER 01: A picture of slain WDBJ photojournalists Adam Ward and Alison Parker is seen at a make shift memorial outside the station September 1, 2015 in Roanoke, Virginia. Friends and families gathered at a celebration of life at First Baptist Church earlier to remember Ward, who was shot during a live broadcast reporting, along with reporter Alison Parker. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A former Virginia news anchor whose journalist girlfriend was fatally shot during a live broadcast in 2015 has defeated a Republican incumbent for a seat in the state house.

Chris Hurst was living with fellow journalist Alison Parker when she and a cameraman were killed by a former co-worker while reporting for WDBJ-TV.

After the shooting, Hurst became the public face of the grieving Roanoke station. That brought him national attention and a large social media following. The Pennsylvania native quit his TV job and moved to Blacksburg to run for a House seat.

He beat Joseph Yost Tuesday.

Hurst’s campaign was backed by gun-control groups, but that wasn’t his main campaign issue. Instead, he focused on education, health care and the environment.